MAYFAIR NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 2018—2038 2 Foreword The Mayfair Neighbourhood Plan 2018 to 2038 is now complete; built on the ideas and comments received through many consultation events over the past years, we hope it reflects the collective desires and aspirations of those who live in, work in and visit Mayfair. The Plan provides an extraordinary opportunity to help shape the future development of Mayfair; it will influence the planning decisions that will be made in the years to come and through that, how the buildings around us, our streetscapes and public spaces will look and work. During this time the impact of Crossrail opening will be felt, new retail formats will likely develop in response to the growth of on-line shopping, business space requirements will be different and the homes we live in will evolve and respond to advances in technology and increased lifespan, while the decline of fossil fuel driven vehicles will continue until they disappear. In creating the Plan, we didn’t start with a blank sheet of paper; we were required to follow existing planning policy and strategy but generally, this provided a boundary to our ideas, not handcuffs that prevented our influence. A full copy of the Plan is available on The Forum’s website: www.mayfairforum.org Jeremy C Bishop Chairman, Steering Group Mayfair Neighbourhood Forum August 2019 3 directors. The three local ward councillors are invited to creating additional space for pedestrians, attractive, attend steering group meetings as observers. multifunctional, accessible and safe streets, and Executive improved walking routes. 3. WHAT IS THE PLAN? Green Spaces 3.1 The Plan is a planning policy document for the next 5.2 The public green spaces in Mayfair are beautiful, historic Summary twenty years. Its function is to articulate policies with and perform an important recreational and restorative which future development in Mayfair should comply in function for the area. That function, and the use by the order to be granted planning permission. community of those spaces, has come under recent 3.2 A key legal requirement of the Plan is that it is in scrutiny, for example with corporate events being held “general conformity” with the strategic policies within in temporary structures in Berkeley Square. The Forum Westminster’s and the Mayor’s own Plans, and indeed the is therefore proposing policies which: encourage local Government’s national planning policy (as expressed in community use of the spaces; seek the enhancement the NPPF). Whilst there are many strategic policies with of green spaces to encourage their use all year round; 1. INTRODUCTION which we have to engage, therefore, perhaps the most encourage public realm enhancements in the spaces 1.1 This is an exciting moment in Mayfair’s history. For important has been the existing “Central Activities Zone” and highways around green spaces (which are often the first time, the Mayfair community of residents, policies; Mayfair is entirely within the CAZ and plays an confusing and hard to navigate); and impose some businesses and visitors, have articulated how they would important role within it. There is a brief description of restrictions on the holding of corporate events in green like the area to develop in the future. Through five years this and the wider existing policy landscape in the Plan. spaces, including requiring these events to invest back of hard work, including five separate consultations, into the green spaces they have used. each incorporating a number of events, the Mayfair 4. WHAT DOES THE PLAN CONTAIN? Greening Neighbourhood Forum has refined these views into an 4.1 As well as planning policies, the Plan contains supporting 5.3 The previous years have seen a loss of green overall vision, objectives, and policy initiatives. Our text and reasoned justifications. These provide infrastructure (such as trees and planters) in and overall vision is to make Mayfair the most desirable and background to and definition of the words in the policies. around the public realm in Mayfair. Developers will be attractive area of London in which to live, work and to 4.2 The Plan also touches on issues such as neighbourhood encouraged to deliver enhanced greening within their visit. management. These do not have the status of planning developments, or to contribute towards the greening of 1.2 This executive summary sets out at a high level what the policy but are an expression of the community’s views public realm around the development. Plan is, what it contains, and the process undertaken about such matters. to date and ahead of us. For more detail on each point, 4.3 The Plan also contains background about the Forum, and II DIRECTING GROWTH please refer to the Plan itself. the evolution of policy. Growth Areas 5.4 One feature of the existing policy landscape (at 2. WHAT IS THE FORUM? 5. POLICY SUMMARY Westminster and London-wide level) is the need 2.1 The Forum is empowered by the Localism Act 2011 to I PUBLIC REALM to deliver sustainable growth to accommodate the create neighbourhood planning policies to govern how Transforming Public Realm accelerating increase in demand for all forms of use. development is to come forward in the neighbourhood. 5.1 Whilst in places the public realm in Mayfair is excellent, Mayfair is no exception. For instance, Crossrail’s opening The Forum’s constitution was established with the we all know that in others it is poor. We feel it is is expected to have a dramatic increase in the number of approval of Westminster City Council in 2014. The inappropriate for such a celebrated and historic area to people entering Mayfair from Davies Street and Hanover Steering Committee, the main decision-making body of suffer like this. We are therefore requiring developers Square. It is important for the Plan to respond to that the Forum, is balanced between four residential directors, through the planning process to look at improving (and other) change, by positively directing growth where four business directors, and up to four community the quality of Mayfair’s public realm. This includes we as a community feel it is appropriate. 4 5.5 Firstly, therefore the Plan encourages sustainable growth the balance of the mixed area that the whole community Environment and Sustainability in key areas such as in the eastern section of Mayfair, and enjoys. We propose that the Plan should go further than 5.14 Mayfair’s future success requires it to continue to adapt along Oxford Street. For the purposes of this Plan, growth existing Westminster policy, by: protecting residential to a more resource efficient model, whilst retaining the is conceived as including greater intensity of use, greater amenity across Mayfair from the negative impacts of beauty of its built environment. Mayfair deserves policies density and encouragement for mixed uses (residential, new commercial or entertainment uses; recognising that will ensure new development is high environmental commercial and others) to be developed. and encouraging new development to reflect part of and sustainability standards, in terms of air quality, 5.6 Secondly, the Plan encourages two ‘key-note Mayfair’s residential built form and character; protecting waste, climate change adaptability, use of sustainable transformational changes’ to be considered: uses which support the residential communities such as materials, and being zero carbon. (a) Park Lane currently operates as a barrier to Mayfair local convenience shopping; and requiring development residents and workers to Hyde Park. The Plan encourages to adopt more stringent construction management 6. PROCESS pursuit of the opportunity to investigate, define and guidelines. 6.1 In preparing the Plan, the Forum has undertaken deliver the optimum scheme for future works to reduce Commercial engagement and consultations in the summer of four traffic levels and improve the public realm on Park Lane; 5.9 Mayfair has a flourishing business community. This of the past five years. Progress and consultation reports and is particularly evident in central and eastern parts of have been reported to Members and are available to view (b) the delivery during the Plan period of a new retail-led Mayfair, although they are present throughout. The Plan on the Forum’s website. Also available on the website are route along the historic line of the Tyburn river, which in encourages this and seeks to ensure the proportion of all previous iterations of the Plan. places is already functioning well (such as Avery Row) commercial floorspace is protected as part of the balance 6.2 The Plan has been subject to independent examination and in others requires imaginative intervention (such as of uses within Mayfair. and consequently certain changes have been made to Bruton Lane). Cultural and Community Uses incorporate the Examiner’s findings. With that work 5.10 Part of Mayfair’s fascination for residents, businesses and complete, Westminster City Council has accepted visitors is its wealth of cultural and community uses. The the Examiner’s recommendation that the Plan should III ENHANCING EXPERIENCE Plan seeks to go further than existing policy in protecting proceed to referendum. Separate referenda are to be Retail the retention of those uses within Mayfair. held in Mayfair for all eligible businesses and residents 5.7 Mayfair contains some of the most important Shepherd Market to vote on the Plan’s adoption. If and when adopted, retail streets in the Country. The Plan encourages 5.11 Shepherd Market is a unique area within Mayfair. It the Plan becomes part of the planning system, and all enhancement and protection for them, by: resisting deserves its own policies recognising its contribution to planning applications should comply with its policies the loss of retail except in certain circumstances; the area and protecting its special character.